St. Edward High School Announces $18 Million Capital Campaign

Diana and Gregg Lowe ’80 Pledge $2.5 million for the Ken Layden ‘80 Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation

This evening, St. Edward High School launched The Courage to Act - an $18 million capital campaign focused on three foundational elements of the St. Edward Experience: hospitality, innovation and affordability. To date, more than $12 million has been raised to support the construction of the Ken Layden ’80 Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, as well as a striking new rotunda as the school’s entrance and 450-seat student commons/dining hall. More than $4 million has been raised to bolster St. Edward’s commitment to financial aid and scholarships through the school’s endowment.

“The Courage to Act Campaign is accelerating St. Edward High School toward an incredible future,” said Campaign Co-Chair Sean Hennessy ’75. “Our focus on hospitality, innovation and affordability today will ensure we continue to provide life-changing experiences for generations of St. Edward students in the future.”

Part of the evening’s event included the announcement of a $2.5 million gift to construct the Ken Layden ‘80 Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. The gift, which is the largest is the school’s history, is from Diana and Gregg Lowe ‘80.

The Ken Layden ’80 Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation will be an addition to St. Edward’s Joseph and Helen Lowe Center, which was built in 2008 to house the school’s expansive pre-engineering program. The new Center will include a new third floor on the Lowe Center with spaces designed for students to work collaboratively and foster entrepreneurial mindsets. Also included in the project will be an expanded makers space, as well as the addition of four state-of-the-art science labs.

“In 2008, when Ken Layden developed the concept of launching an entrepreneurship program at St. Ed’s we were grateful recipients of his forward-thinking vision,” said St. Edward President Jim Kubacki. “Bringing this center to life honors that vision and will afford our students with opportunities to explore entrepreneurship and innovation in unprecedented ways.”

Ken Layden, also a 1980 graduate of St. Edward High School, passed away in January 2008 after a long battle with cancer.

“We are so proud that Ken could take something he was so passionate about and create a lasting legacy by sharing that passion with the young men of St. Ed’s,” said Ken’s mother, Ms. Wilma Layden

“St. Ed’s is now a leader in innovation and entrepreneurship, just as it is with pre-engineering,” added Lowe. “Our decades-long success in delivering innovative programming is proven. The new center will maximize the potential of those programs so that all St. Edward students – no matter their interests – will develop into the entrepreneurial thinkers and leaders our world needs.”

Construction on the Ken Layden ’80 Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, the first phase of the campaign construction, is scheduled to begin in June 2017.

“The generosity of the St. Edward Community is inspiring,” said Campaign Co-Chair Paul Clark ’71. “The impact of that generosity is immeasurable and will ensure that St. Edward High School continues to deliver an exceptional Holy Cross education committed to hospitality, innovation and affordability.”